The present invention relates to a heating system for use in on-board kitchens in means of transport and a method for heating food on board means of transport, in particular aircraft.
On board aircraft, as well as in other mobile units, appliances are used for the heating up of food. The food is generally supplied in ready cooked condition by gastronomy companies in the so-called catering world, and they must be enhanced in appearance and heated up for the specified length of time shortly before serving them to the passengers. Because of insufficient supply of thermal energy to the product which is not ideal for the quality of the product, the sensory quality in particular (taste, consistency) and the appearance of the product often suffer.
Moreover, if several heating appliances (for example ovens and appliances for preparing hot water) are used at the same time, peak demand in the on-board kitchen generally leads to an undesirable increase in cost because, even if the requirement for power for the peak demand is only short-lived, it still results in an increase in expenditure for the supply of energy by means of generators, energy cells and other power sources. This increase in expenditure has, amongst other things, negative knock-on effects for the aircraft such as equipment and running costs as well as weight and structural volume requirements by providing a power source large enough to respond to the case where maximum performance is required (peak demand).
Previous methods for supplying additional heat energy without increasing the electric connection power make use of sensitive, latent or thermochemical heat storage systems for additional heating.
In WO 99/63277, a cooking appliance with additional units based upon the storage and release system of latent heat is described which can be used to compensate for peak demands.
In DE 3639545 C1 a method principle is described for the storage and transformation of heat and creation of cold with the help of two metal hydride/metal hydrogen systems working together in a closed circuit with different temperatures. In technically relevant temperature and pressure situations with hydrogen under high heat toning, many metals react to metal hydride. By variation of the hydrogen pressure, the heat output temperature can be varied. The high temperature storage can then be used as a heat energy buffer whenever there is an increased requirement for heat energy and heat energy is supplied to a cooking pot.